Greetings Feathered Friends Community. Let's all welcome Round 266 of the Show Me A Photo or SMAP Contest hosted by 
The theme for this week is:
FREE THEME
Last week, in Round 265 of this contest, I featured a feathered friend called the Nankeen Night Heron, also commonly known as the Rufous Night Heron. The link to my post last week is here. I saw the critter and another one which I called the photo bomber inside the Zebra's enclosure in the Manila Zoo. The photos were taken from quite a distance since visitors were not allowed inside the pen. However, after I transferred to another area of the zoo, I think this time it was the lagoon, I looked up a tree and lo and behold there it was again!
It turns out this bird and a lot more are allowed to just fly anywhere in the zoo. They are not caged and are free to roost where they want to. Like this one, after a drink in the pool of water, it chose to roost in this tree which is actually one of its traits. Here are some fun facts I've learned about the Rufous Night Heron courtesy of Wikipedia.
Appearance: Adults have a distinctive reddish-brown (rufous) back and wings, a pale breast, and a black cap on their head.
Behavior: They are primarily nocturnal, often roosting in tall trees near water during the day.
Habitat: They are found in diverse habitats, including mangroves, forests, marshes, and swamps.
Location: This species is widely distributed, including throughout the Philippines.
Here's another look at my featured bird which is also my entry to this Round.
And that's it. More of the same this week but different vantage point. Hope you like it. Stay safe one and all and may you all have a blessed Sunday.
(All photos are mine.)